VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

OF RAJASTHAN

By
A.Shanmugga
Rani,M.Arch
 CULTURE OF RAJASTHAN
• The culture of Rajasthan includes many artistic traditions
that reflect the ancient Indian way of life. Rajasthan is
also called "Land of Kings".
• This historical state of India attracts tourists and
vacationers with its rich culture, tradition, heritage, and
monuments.
• Multi-colour is more.
• More and more glittering
COMMONLY FOUND TRIBES
• Bhunga-Jaisalmar
• Bhil-Udaipur
• Meena-Jaipur and Madhopur
• Garasi-Siroho and Kota districta
• Damor
• Dhanka
• Koli
BHUNGA
• The Bhunga is traditional
construction type.
• This construction type has been in
practice for more than 200 years.
• A Bhunga consists of a single
cylindrically shaped room topped by
a conical roof.
 BHUNGA
• Site: Typically found in flat terrain. They do
not share common walls with adjacent
buildings, with a typical distance of about 3m.
• Building Configruation: Bhunga is circular in
plan with cylindrically shaped walls and topped
with conical roof.
• Building typology: House(single family,5-
10inhabitants). Bathroom and toilets are
constructed in a separate structure.
Settlements of one whole family-built on plinth.
BHUNGA
ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
• Building materials and Construction: Traditional
roof consists of light-weight conical roof of thatch
and wooden supporting members. The mud walls are
simply extended into the ground for a
foundation(without footing).
• Clustering: Arrangement of open spaces reflect
their life-style and social structure. On a raised
platform on which circulation is carried out.
MEENA TRIBE
• Meenas have more sense of privacy.
• Have a tendency to stay scattered.
• No clustering whatsoever, handful houses found on a hill.
• A single room structure.
• A single entrance.
• No windows/openings
• Door is the only source for light.
MEENA TRIBE
• Wall paintings by women.
• White paint in the interiors.
JAWALI HOUSE
• Smaller villages north of Bikaner.
• Uneven Terrain
• Main activity –Argiculture-millets-for own consumption
as well as to sell.
• Compactly grouped houses within narrow paths.
• Private courtyard
• Semi-Private courtyard-Cattle
• Most significant and typical feature is the entrance
gate of these houses and also their unique grain and
other storage jars made of mud.
JAWALI HOUSE
Streets of the village are defined by the long boundary walls or
hedges of the outer courtyard of the houses.
Various sizes and shapes of these entrance gates symbolizes
transition and proclaim individual territory and identity.
Mud walls of the boundary are heightened at this to cover the
doorway in shape of an arch, a triangle or a square.
A few niches may be provided for lamps.
JAWALI HOUSE
• In the plan, the houses have an enveloping quality with the
inner courtyard as the nucleus.
• Mud walls of the rooms and the encircling walls with their
numerous storage elements, are the first envelope around
their private open-to-sky domain.
• Outer envelope encloses the open space for animals, the
rooms for visitors, the storage area for fuel-wood and areas
for other, less private activities
JAWALI HOUSE
• Guest rooms are in one corner and are away from
the main house.
• Indicate the need for privacy in line with social
custom.
• Guest rooms have platforms in the front, these
might also be used for storage purposes or to
house animals during conditions of severe heat or
cold.
• Floor of this court is left unfinished and is often
left in its natural condition.
JAWALI HOUSE
• Main house is entered through a small opening in a low mud wall, separating the two
courtyards.
• Two rectangular rooms on the two sides and one circular jhompa right across the
entrance surrounding the internal space which is open to sky.
• Circular jhompa has conical thatched roof and the rectangular rooms have flat roof.
• Symmetrically placed rooms, emphasize the entrance door of the circular jhompa when
observed from the gate.
JAWALI HOUSE
• It is also the seat of the head male member of the family.
• The circular jhompa is the kitchen space while the
rectangular rooms are for children and members of the
family.
• On the two diagonal walls linking the rooms, are seen
grain storage units of various sizes, built of mud.
• A storage unit is never entered into. The conical top is
closed once the dried grain is placed within and it is then
locked.
JAWALI HOUSE
• These storage units stand out due to their shapes
and the architectural composition of their forms.
• Many units within one house, perhaps due to the
prosperity of the local farmers or their need to
protect themselves from draught.
• The functional and sculptural storage units have two
openings, the larger one near the top and the
smaller one at the bottom.
JAWALI HOUSE
• The upper opening generally has a lockable shutter, lower
opening is small and used for the daily quota of food
grains.
• A cotton rag is used to plug it,the walls of the storage jars
are 15 to 20cm thick, with stone or wood on base and the
jars are propped up from the floor on fixed stilts.
• Replastered every year before new grains are stored.
Hand made storage units are never identical, such
variations of detail add to beauty of these mud houses
and give them a highly personalized look within a generic
order.
KHIDRAT HOUSE
• Khidrat is a small village situated 60km from
Bikaner.
• Main Activity-Agriculture
• After the damaged caused by rain the houses
are repaired and replastered with mud
• The village of Khidrat spreads over both
sides of road with mud jhompus and three
layer of thatch clearly being visible on one
side and other with thin and country tile
rectangular roofs.
KHIDRAT HOUSE
• The later type of house shows an early stage of
contemporary house development.
• The older side of the village with its cluters of
circular jhompas about 50 houses loosely
positioned.
KHIDRAT HOUSE
• Three kinds of plan observed
• In larger houses inner courtyards for the people and
outer courtyard for cattle
• In second category, the house are without the
courtyard for animals. The animals rest outside the
inner court wall.
• The third category of houses has two jhompas with
ottas but without courtyards. The inside and outside of
the house are strongly defined by an emphatic
entrance.
• The most special element in these houses are the
conical thatched roof.
KHIDRAT HOUSE
• In unbearable summer days the jhompas with its 3 layered
thatched roof keep the inside environment cool.
• The materials used in making the thatch are the main twigs
from jowar,bajara or millet from their agricultural production.
• The gates of these houses are generally made of natural
logs. The log is often fixed to another similar forked one so
they are locked together. These rough logs are about 15-20
cm in diameter and are heavy to lift, a large stone bowl filled
with water is placed just outside the entrance and the roof is
constructed with hay.
KHIDRAT HOUSE
• Typially each house has open courtyard around which
5-6 jhompas are posted.
• A low wall defines the court. The outer boundary walls
are defined with weed hedges on vertical stone strips.
• Walls are mud plastered. The personal rooms are
small where the courts are large the people built only
to the minimum extent so they wasted very little.
• By scooping out depressions or adding projections
they created little thick plastered niches which held
oiled lamps for their deities .
KHIDRAT HOUSE
• In the village the caste system is very much
prominent.
• Each sector of caste have their own specific
dwellings inside the village.
• Brahmins stayed together but away from
harijans and so on.
• The houses of lower caste people are
comparatively well maintained. Better
designed and maintained with paints.
GARIA LOHARS
• They are lohar (ironsmith) by profession who move on from one place
on bullockcarts, Which in Hindi called gadi, hence the name “Gadia
Lohar”
GARIA LOHARS
• When they settle in one place for more than six months
they generally make low walls of mud brick and then
construct the roof of shack or pf plastic covering.
• When they live at a place for less than six months they do
not construct any walls but they use plastic sheet for roof,
supported by wooden poles.
• They also have tents when they do not live at a place more
than a week.
• Those families which go from village to village in two or
three days, do not construct any shelter but they live below
carts itself.
BHILS

• Tucked at the foothills of the Aravallis, the compiles

is spread across 70 acres, and houses 26 huts
under natural surroundings.
• The Bhils are also skilled wall painters and their
paintings, known as Mandno,can be seen on the
walls on their houses and temples.
• Their important festival Baneshwar fair.
BHIL HOUSE -TYPICAL FEATURES

• An entrance without door shutter

• Mud and Clay walls which are sometimes coated with cow-dung.
• A window or two
• Dry grass roof
• White walls with some artistic drawings.
SPECIAL FEATURES: DESI-TECHNOLOGY
THE REFRIGERATION HUT
• The base is drilled through and through to
let the heat from the earth escape,
keeping the items inside cool.
• The walls of clay and cow-dung paste.
(natural coolants)
• Roof-Conical shape to deflect the sun-rays
to stock curd,buttermilk or any item
needs refrigeration.
ARCHITECTURE OF
JAISALMAR
JAISALMAR
• Jaisalmar nicknamed "The Golden
city", is a city in the Indian state of
Rajasthan, located 575 kilometres
(357 mi) west of the state capital
Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of
yellowish sandstone and is crowned
by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort
JAISALMAR
CLIMATE AND VEGETATION TRADITIONAL HOUSES
• Tropical Desert Climate • People of Jaisalma live in fort. Now many
houses has been converted to shops.
• Summer-March to September (35-40 ℃)
• They use the golden stone for construction.
• Winter-October to February (4-28 ℃)
• Rainfall: The region is drained by very scanty • Don’t use any mortar, they make bond by
rainfall during the monsoon season compare using scissors in between the golden
to eastern states of India. stones.

• Raincrops: Bajra, Jawar,Motif, til etc. • The golden stone is a soft stone, hence
very nice carvings could be done over it.
• Spring crops of Wheat, Barely are very rare.
 PATWON KI HAVELI
• The Patwon ki Haveli is an interesting piece
of Architecture and is most important
among the havelis in Jaisalmar.
• It was the first erected in Jaisalmar in 1805
by Guman Chad Patwa and it is not a single
haveli but a cluster of 5 small havelis.
• It is belived that Patwa was a rich man and
renowened trader of his time. He could
afford and thus ordered the construction of
separate storis for each of his 5 sons.
 PATWON KI HAVELI
• The Patwon ki Haveli is an interesting piece
of Architecture and is most important
among the havelis in Jaisalmar.
• It was the first erected in Jaisalmar in 1805
by Guman Chad Patwa and it is not a single
haveli but a cluster of 5 small havelis.
• It is believed that Patwa was a rich man
and renowned trader of his time. He could
afford and thus ordered the construction of
separate stories for each of his 5 sons.
ENTRANCE OF PATWON KI HAVELI
• Rich carved doors,Windows,
Pillars and Balconies on
entrance.
• They store food for camel in
basement Entranc
e

Window

Courtyar
d
ROOMS OF PATWON KI HAVELI

• Drawing room
• Common courtyard
• Bedroom(female) with dressing rrom
attached
• Bedroom(male) with dressing rrom
attached
• Music room
• Game Zone
• Dining room
• Kitchen
• Utility area
SHEESH MAHAL OF PATWON KI HAVELI

• Walls and ceiling are

decorated with glass
and paint.
• Beautiful paintings Drawing Room Music Room
were also there,
KITCHEN OF PATWON KI HAVELI

Water storage

Preparation Area Access to Utility

area
GAME ZONE
GAME ZONE

SMALL HOLES
DECORATED CEILING TO LET HOT AIR
OUT
CEILINGS
SHOPS IN FORT